Mightier Than Dollar: Pen Costs Hu $70,000

Hampton University President William R. Harvey bought a little piece of history Friday. But even at a price of $70,000, he says, the purchase was worth every penny the school spent.

The small object that seized his attention for several tense minutes Friday morning was the historic "Pen of Liberty," a writing instrument believed to have been used by Abraham Lincoln to sign a decree freeing the slaves of Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1862. That federal decree was among the first to abolish slavery in the United States and came more than five months before the Emancipation Proclamation.

The pen appeared on the block at Christie's auction house in New York City as part of a regular offering of printed books, manuscripts and Americana. Harvey, who followed the auction's progress and instructed a university representative by phone, hung on every twist and turn of the sale.

His successful bid left Harvey flushed with excitement well into the afternoon. "Words almost fail me," he said, "and that's a real feat right

there.

"This is a treasure that the students of Hampton will value forever. I'm just about as pleased as I can be to have it."

The lacquered wooden pen, which is packed in a brass-hinged wooden case, comes with a fragment of a letter signed by Civil War Senator Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio. The Civil War legislator was a vehement leader of the anti-slavery faction, and he is believed to have given the pen to the Massachusetts family whose descendants ordered its sale.

Christie's original estimate for what the pen would net ranged from $5,000 to $7,000. Those figures became meaningless almost as soon as the pen hit the auction block.

"Obviously, there was a very active interest on the part of the bidders," a Christie's spokesman said. "The auctioneer started the bidding at the low end of the estimate and, as you can see, the price went up."

The pen, which will be paid for from a special acquisition fund, becomes the first Hampton University-owned object with a clearly documented relationship to President Lincoln. According to Jeanne Zeidler, director of the university's museum, the school once had a rocking chair believed to have been owned by Lincoln. But the relic has been lost, she said, and its association may have been only folklore.

The new acquisition, which will arrive at the university within a few weeks, will go on public display as soon as possible. According to Zeidler, it will join a collection of materials associated with the history of the institution.

"Lincoln never visited here, but the university's relationship with him is strong, as is its relationship with the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at the Emancipation Oak in Hampton. That makes the pen a wonderful way to tell the story of how and why this school was founded," she said.